January 2019 Portrait of the Month — Albrecht Becher

Albrecht Becher

While reflecting on the past year, we found ourselves gravitating towards stories of love and tolerance; stories that reminded us of the humanity in the world, and the vibrant and strong communities that exist everywhere, despite the hardships they face. With that in mind, we decided to feature a portrait of Albrecht Becher as January's Portrait of the Month. Albrecht was a gay man living in Nazi Germany.  Section 175 of the new German Criminal Code, forbade sexual relationships between same-sex couples. As many as 15,000 gay men were sent to concentration camps. Many more were arrested and sent to prison. Albrecht was arrested for homosexuality and spent three years in prison. In 1944, he was drafted into the German army and sent to the perilous Eastern Front, which he miraculously survived.

 Watch an interview and learn more about his life. This portrait of Albrecht was created at a workshop at the Apáczai Csere János Gymnasium in Budapest, Hungary in partnership with the Zachor Remembrance Foundation.  

Students from the workshop were very moved by the work they did, and reflected on the experience:

“I was captivated by the feeling, following the path of light and shadow.”

“[The workshop] presented other points of view and encouraged us to think.”